SAN ANTONIO — At Cured, chef and owner Steve McHugh draws on a lifetime of experiences and impeccable training to produce a deeply personal restaurant that lifts cooking from the heart to a new level.

Although he came to San Antonio as executive chef of New Orleans-based Lüke, his life is rooted in his childhood on a farm in Wisconsin, which shows in his ease with the vegetables he procures from the Pearl Farmers Market. His training at the Culinary Institute of America, 14 years in New Orleans, his fight against lymphoma (it's in remission), and his embrace of his new home in South Texas all inform the experience here.

Look no further than the Blue Ribbon Burger. It may seem unassuming, but it vividly demonstrates McHugh's approach and passion.

Let's start with the meat. It's a blend of chuck, beef short rib and bacon. The buns are baked in-house. The melty cheese, a mixture of aged cheddar and smoked Gouda, includes a touch of sodium citrate to add creaminess, iota carrageenan to emulsify the mixture, and a splash of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer for extra flavor, resulting in an unforgettable house-made American cheese. Hickory-smoked onions cooked into a jam add another layer of flavor and creamy texture.

The burger, in all its melty, juicy, smoky, beefy and messy glory, is sublime.

So is the rest of the menu. At the figurative and literal heart of the restaurant is McHugh's memorable charcuterie program. A glass-walled and climate-controlled room where meats hang for curing greets diners when they walk through the front door.

On any given day, the cured items can include chicken liver mousse, country-style pork pate, cured duck ham or “whipped pork butter.” Yes, you can spread some house-rendered lard that's been whipped into fluffy submission onto a house-baked crisp flatbread. It has a subtle flavor, so a spread of the ivory-colored goodness needs an accompaniment of one of the many house-made pickled vegetables, mustards or jams. My favorite items, however, are the hunters sausage and apple jalapeño pork rillettes.

A charcuterie board makes a perfect appetizer or happy hour accompaniment with a glass from a thoughtfully curated wine list or one of the memorable specialty cocktails. Try the light flavors of the Cured cocktail, a mixture of lemon-thyme moonshine, ginger, house-made citrus bitters and a splash of cava garnished with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Most of the dishes here lend themselves to sharing. For the poutine, it's almost a requirement. McHugh transforms one of his Wisconsin childhood comfort foods — made with fries, gravy and cheese curds — into a pure delight of house-made fries, braised pork cheeks in a rich sauce and Wisconsin cheese curds, with a topping of small pickled vegetables that provide a bracing brininess and crunch.

A puffed beet cracker adds a touch of texture and whimsy to a salad of beets, blood orange segments and avocado cubes, while a strong note of tarragon accentuates pickled tapioca that accompanies masa-dusted fried oysters.

Shrimp and grits are incredibly rich, with shrimp diced with tasso ham in a spicy tomato cream sauce atop grits made smooth with mascarpone.

A grilled flat iron steak features an intriguing mushroom agrodolce (literally “sweet sour” in Italian) that adds fresh notes to a dish too often mired in tradition or complacency.

One of the few missteps came in a daily lunch special, this one featuring an overcooked house-made sausage, atop a lovely vegetable hash and topped with a fried egg.

No such worries with a dessert that's thoughtful, whimsical and thoroughly satisfying. It's a Beet Twinkie — a small rectangular cake made with beet juice with a piping of whipped sweet meringue that sits on top of Meyer lemon curd and a garnish of crumbled chocolate. For generations scarred by mushy beets, let this serve as the first step in your beet rehabilitation.

As strong as the first few weeks have been, there's a sense here that McHugh is just getting started.